Steady Love
by room4602
Summary: Spencer/Ashley. "My name is Spencer Carlin, I'm 7 years old, and I don't know a lot about love, but I do know that I love my best friend, Ashley Davies."


**Chapter 1: All is full of love.**

"Hey Dad, what does love mean?"

Every night my dad tucks me into bed and, while we have a cup of cocoa (this is the **only** time food is allowed in my room), we talk about anything we want to until I fall asleep. It's been our tradition since I started going to school.

"Well, Spence, it can mean a lot of things," he says.

"Like what Dad?" I ask.

"Well, it can be _used_ in many different ways. You love your mom and me, but that's different than how you love your toys, or your friends, or the t.v, or Seattle…"

"Oh, I loooovvvee Seattle!"

When I was, like, six-and-a-half, my dad and mom let me watch this move called 'Sleepless in Seattle' with them. I **love** that movie. In the movie Sam loves his son, whose name is Jonah, but Sam also loves his wife – but she died. Jonah tries to get him a new wife on the radio and Annie hears him. Annie falls in love with Sam and writes him a letter. At the end Sam and Annie fall in love. It's a happy ending.

Anyway, the movie showed me what Seattle looks like. I love Seattle because of all the water (Dad says my eyes are the same color as the water there), this tower called the Space Needle, and Sam, Annie, and Jonah are there. I want to live there someday.

Dad's finished his cocoa so he puts his mug down by my lamp. "I know honey and we'll go there sometime in the future."

"And we'll go to the top of the Space Needle?" I ask. We can't miss the Space Needle.

He laughs, "Yes, we'll go to the tip-top of the Space Needle and have dinner while it revolves."

"Cool! And you'll let me have dessert up there?"

"Yes, a big Starbucks cake."

I've finished my cup of cocoa and set my mug down by my dad's. "What's a Starbucks?"

"It's this place in Seattle that makes coffee," he says.

Ew! _Coffee_! "Gross Dad! I don't like coffee!" I yell at him.

"Okay, okay, we'll have a chocolate cake then."

I smile. "That's better," I'm trying to think of more questions because Dad will say yes to _anything_. Mom never does, so I always ask Dad for stuff during cocoa time. "And can we watch 'Sleepless in Seattle' up there?"

"I'll bring my laptop just for you Spence." He's yawning now, I think he's tired. I'll let him go to bed after one last question…

"And can Ashley come?"

Ashley is my **very** best friend in the whole entire world. I've known her since we moved to Los Angeles from Ohio four months ago. She lives in the house right next to mine and comes over to play after school everyday.

Oh yeah, she loves Seattle too! She wants to live there when she's waaaayyy older for school, or something like that. She listens to a lot of bands from Seattle; she lets me listen to them on her iPod. And, do you know what's really cool? We watch 'Sleepless in Seattle' together almost everyday! She calls me _B-More _because in the movie Annie is from Baltimore, and I call her _Sleepless_ because that's what the radio lady calls Sam. She always says:

"_Don't let __**anyone**__ know that I love this movie because it will totally ruin my rep."_

Okay. Whatever that means.

Anyway, Ashley is the most _beautiful_ person I've ever seen. She has long, dark, curly hair that I love to play with. And her eyes are big and brown too. She wears the coolest clothes and has the best singing voice. Plus, she always smells like honey. Honey is my favorite food. I don't tell anyone that though, I'm scared Ashley will find out and she'll be mad at me.

I really want Ashley to come with us to Seattle. I hate it when Ashley's not around…

"Of course she can come Spencer. Miss Ashley is always invited if she wants to be."

Yay!

I get out of my covers to give him a big hug. This was a very important question to me and Dad said 'yes!' I was very scared he wasn't going to. "Wow, thanks Dad! You're the coolest ever!"

He laughs while he stands to tuck me back in, "thanks kiddo. You know me and your mom love having Miss Ashley around."

Love? That's right…I almost forgot. "Dad, you didn't finish answering my question. What does love mean?"

"Why do you want to know so bad sweetheart?" he asks me, sitting on my bed again.

"Some boys were talking about it at school…" I start to say until Dad stops me.

"First of all, Spence, don't listen to _boys_." Hey, Ashley always says that too. "And second, love is what you make it to be. To me, it's doing anything for that other person, or doing anything for your toys, or doing anything to go to the city of Seattle. I don't know…I don't think love can be explained, kiddo. It's more of a _feeling_ than anything. I'm sorry about the poor description, does that help at all?"

Sorta. "Umm…sure Dad. Thanks for telling me," I smile up at him.

He looks happy with my answer, so he stands up and gives me a kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight kiddo," he says as he turns off my light and leaves my room.

Now, I kinda lied to Dad there. I'm not sure what he was talking about, but I'm sure he's right. When I think about my toys and my parents, I do feel different than when I'm thinking about homework and boys. Maybe that's what he means? I don't know.

What I **do** know is that my name is Spencer Elaine Carlin, I'm seven years old, I'm a second-grader at Sugar Leaf Elementary School, and I don't know a lot about love, but I do know that I am in love right now.

Her name is Ashley Rae Davies, she's 14 years old, she's my **very** best friend in the whole entire world, and she's my babysitter.


End file.
